Hello people sorry for taking so long to update, but I've been busy with school work. Oh well. Anyways, thanks to jjayno1, darksnake1302, Valinor's Twilight, lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl, larrycucumber2, Mizu Hime, ForeverInTheMoment, Hibiki-chan, Lyris88, ruler of dragons, and Uchiha Sasha for reading and reviewing. Please review, the sooner you review the sooner I update and the more reviews I receive the more I write. Now on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but the clumsy and lovable Rei, the cowardly, yet dashing Okoru, the childishly charming Zakyo, and the arrogant and loyal Yu.
Chapter Forty-Six
Rei and Yu stood in the center of the arena and after hearing what Yu had to say Rei knew that she wouldn't hold back. She sighed at her friend's stubborn attitude.
"Alright, then let's get started."
Yu smirked and nodded. The crowd waited for the fight to begin and Okoru frowned slightly at the smirk on Yu's face. Suddenly, she disappeared. Rei seemed surprised, but then she jumped away just as Yu appeared behind her with a kunai.
Rei landed a few feet away from Yu who ran towards her. Rei took out some kunai and threw them. Yu dodged them easily, but Rei made some hand signs.
"Earth Style: Earth Spikes!"
Several spikes rose from the ground and Yu dodged them. She jumped up to avoid them, but Rei made some more hand signs and the spikes shot out of the ground. Yu frowned and twisted in the air to avoid getting hit. As she spun she threw some kunai. Rei jumped to the side and Yu appeared in front of her. She punched Rei, but Rei blocked the hit and moved behind Yu. She kicked her and sent her a few feet away from her. Yu turned around and smirked.
"Well, I guess your taijutsu and ninjutsu are too strong to beat, which leaves genjutsu."
Rei frowned.
"Yu, don't use that technique, please."
"Sorry, Rei, but anything goes in this fight."
Yu made some hand signs and disappeared. Rei took out a kunai and got ready to attack. The crowd looked around the arena, trying to find the girl. Suddenly Rei sensed something. She turned around and saw some shuriken heading towards her and she noticed some of Yu's chakra thread attached to the shuriken. The shuriken twisted around her and trapped her to the tree behind her. Yu appeared and smirked.
"It seems that you're getting slow."
Rei frowned at her friend.
"You've been the strongest one. Everyone says that there's nothing you fear. Well, I guess I'll be the first to find out then. But before I do, I would like to relive some memories with you." She said as she smirked.
Yu made some hand signs and Rei felt dizzy. She shut her eyes and waited for it to be over.
Yu smirked as she closed her eyes and entered her friend's mind she concentrated on finding her worst fears and memories. Anything that would help her defeat Rei. Soon, images began flooding into her head. She looked around and saw that she was in a funeral. She was holding someone's hand. She looked up and saw a woman she recognized as Rei's mother. She looked back at where there was a picture of a man with short silver hair and blue eyes that were surprisingly familiar.
The memory was replaced by one of her standing in a laboratory of some kind. There were various containers with strange creatures around her. It was dark and cold and she heard a familiar voice next to her. She looked up and saw Orochimaru.
Then she was standing near a river and there were many bodies strewn around. There was blood staining the ground and trickling towards the river. She trembled in the pouring rain, but it wasn't just because she was cold. She looked at her hands and saw blood staining them. She ran to the river and saw Rei looking at her through a pair of emotionless eyes in a blood stained face.
As she looked into the river she was taken into more of her friend's memories. She found herself sitting next to Okoru.
"Rei, are you leaving."
"Yes."
"Will you come back?"
"I don't know…"
"Then don't leave."
"I have to. If I don't you and Zakyo and Yu will be in danger."
"We'll be fine."
"No, I have to go, to keep you guys safe. I don't want you to get hurt. Even if I have to die, I'll keep you guys safe."
Okoru's face faded and she was running trough a hallway. Some shinobi appeared in front of her and she dodged the kunai that they threw. Once she was close enough she slit the throat of the one closest to her and ducked as the other tried to hit her. She swung her leg and hit the man's legs making him fall. She stabbed him and kept running. Once she was outside she found herself surrounded. She took out two windmill shuriken and ran towards the men. She moved quickly and killed smoothly. She could feel the blood hitting her face and once she was done she put away the weapons and continued running.
She then found herself in a sort of training room. She was standing in front of a blonde woman with a kunai in her hand. The woman was dead and as she looked closely at her she saw it was Rei's mother.
The memory faded and she found herself lying on the ground in a forest. She was panting heavily and her hand was lying in front of her face. She could see more bloodstained bandages on them. She heard someone approaching her and saw some shinobi wearing vests from Konoha appear.
Yu felt her head beginning to hurt and held her hands to it's sides. She opened her eyes and saw Rei looking at her calmly. Yu growled.
"Why are you so calm? Why aren't you affected by this?"
"Because they're my memories."
Yu looked at her and stood up.
"I am the one that lived through them and I am the one that thinks about them everyday. I never forgot about the people I killed while I was with that snake bastard and I never forgot about my parents and about how hard it was to leave you guys. Those memories, they aren't just memories to me."
"But why do they affect me!?!"
"Because you never killed the way I did. Even if you have killed someone, it was never like what I did. Those memories, although they weren't your own, affected you because of the way in which you say them. The flaw in your technique is putting yourself in the place of your enemy. That's why I told you not to use that technique."
Rei looked down at the threads holding her against the tree and saw that they were weakening.
"I see that you are almost at your limit. That attack must have taken a lot out of you."
"Shut up." Yu said as she composed herself.
Rei stepped forward as the threads disappeared.
"Let's finish this." Yu said as she smirked.
Rei nodded and they got ready to fight. Rei charged at Yu and jumped in the air before she got to where she was. She made some hand signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
Yu dodged the fire and looked back at where Rei was, but she was gone. She turned around and was hit with a strong current of wind. She was thrown back a bit, but remained standing. She felt the cold metal of a kunai pressed on her neck. She smirked as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"A clone?" Rei said surprised.
"Yep, and you fell for it." Yu said.
Rei tried to turn around, but found herself stuck to the ground. She looked down and saw some kunai stuck to the ground with threads on them. The threads had tangled themselves on her legs. She recognized the kunai as the ones Yu had thrown earlier and cursed her carelessness.
"Well, I guess it's time to see if the headache from before was worth it."
She made some hand signs and Rei felt strange. Everything began to grow dark and soon she couldn't see anything. She felt as if she was falling. She opened her eyes and found herself standing on her own in the midst of darkness.
"Where am I?"She thought.
"You are in the darkness you belong in."
Rei turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.
"Sasuke?"
She was surprised to see him there.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to make sure you stay here."
"What do you mean? We have to get out of here. Where are we anyways?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"No, you have to stay here on your own. This is where you belong. You've caused us nothing but trouble since you arrived. It would be better if you just stayed here."
Rei was puzzled by this. She frowned and realized it was an illusion. She put her hands together to form a sign.
"Release!"
She waited, but nothing happened.
"What kind of illusion is this?" She muttered.
She looked around, but there was no one around apart from Sasuke.
"This isn't an illusion, this is real."
"Shut up, you're not real." She said sternly.
Sasuke chuckled and walked towards her.
"Just give up, this is where you belong. After all, no one really needs you back in Konoha, you were just a burden to our village. The only person that actually wants you is Orochimaru and he only wants your power. Even your friends have given up on you."
"That's not true, they haven't given up on me, they never did. They're my friends."
"Then why did you leave us?"
Rei turned around and saw Okoru standing there.
"I did it to help you. I didn't want you to get hurt."
"Stop lying, you were just running away."
Rei frowned.
"Why the hell am I talking to an illusion?" She mumbled as she turned to walk away.
"Because I'm not an illusion and you know it."
She stopped.
"Even if I'm not real what I'm saying is true. This is what your friends are really wondering. Why did you leave? Why did you run away?"
"Shut up." She growled.
"Why couldn't you just stay with us? Why did you have to pretend to be so strong?"
Rei took out a kunai and turned around.
"Shut up, you're nothing but an illusion." She said as she sunk the kunai in.
She felt her friend tense and the shadows around her weakened. Everything began to dissolve and she closed her eyes as she felt dizzy. When she opened her eyes she was back in the arena, but she found herself holding a kunai to someone's body. She felt the blood trickling down her hand and looked up at her friend's surprised expression. She let go of the weapon and caught her friend as she fell.
"Yu!"
She flinched, but smirked.
"I guess…you won…"
Rei looked at her friend with concern.
"Don't worry…I'll be fine…" Yu said.
Rei smiled as the medics arrived. She sighed and looked up at Zakyo. She hoped that she would be able to beat Zakyo, but apart from that, she hoped she wouldn't have to hurt her friend. She knew that she couldn't let herself get carried away like she had been with Yu.
"The next battle is between Rei Hatori and Zakyo Zetsunen." The proctor announced.
Rei sighed as Zakyo arrived at the arena.
"Are you ready, Rei-san?" Zakyo said cheerfully.
Rei nodded and they both got ready to fight.
End Chapter Forty-Six
Hope you guys liked this chapter and please review. The sooner you review the sooner I update and the more reviews I receive the more I write. Sayonara!